Police Dispatcher

TRI-STATE -- A storm Saturday night caused flooding problems and accidents in Hagerstown, but no one was seriously injured, a police dispatcher said. Maryland State Police responded to several accidents, including one in the Smithsburg area that sent someone to the hospital, a trooper said. No additional information about that accident was available. Most of the accidents were weather-related, the trooper said. A Washington County Emergency Services dispatcher said the county responded to about two dozen weather-related calls, mostly about flooding conditions.

A deer jumped through the passenger window of a vehicle on Pennsylvania Avenue this morning, a police dispatcher said. The dispatcher said the incident occurred at about 7:30 a.m. near Rest Haven Cemetery. The driver was not hurt. No other details were available this morning.

A driver was taken to Washington County Hospital Friday afternoon after experiencing a diabetic emergency and crashing at Prime Outlets at Hagerstown, Maryland State Police said. The crash happened at about 1:47 p.m., a police dispatcher said. The vehicle crashed near the site of the future Columbia Sportswear Co. store. No one else was injured in the crash, the dispatcher said.

Martinsburg police get new call system Starting today, the Martinsburg Police Department will implement a new call-answering system during daytime business hours. This system will affect the Police Department's general business phone number, 1-304-264-2100, according to a news release. This automated system will allow callers direct access to various offices within the Martinsburg Police Department. The system will allow direct contact with the police records/accident reports office, Municipal Court Clerk's office and the Municipal Court Cashier's office.

West Memorial Boulevard near South Potomac Street was closed for a little more than an hour Wednesday morning in the area of a railroad bridge after a truck became lodged in the underpass, the Hagerstown Police Department said. The accident happened about 9:30 a.m. when a truck attempted to drive through the underpass and "peeled its top off," a police dispatcher said. The truck was removed and the street was reopened by 10:45 a.m., police said. CSX, the track's owner, was called to inspect the bridge and found that the damage was superficial only, police said.

Deer jumps through vehicle window A deer jumped through the passenger-side window of a vehicle on Pennsylvania Avenue Friday morning, a police dispatcher said. The incident occurred about 7:30 a.m. near Rest Haven Cemetery, the dispatcher said. The driver was not injured, the dispatcher said. Two arrested on drug charges MARTINSBURG, W.Va. - Two Hagerstown residents were arrested Thursday on drug charges after their vehicle was seen in a parking lot on New York Avenue, according to a Berkeley County Sheriff's Department press release.

HAGERSTOWN -- Hagerstown Police officers surrounded a home Monday afternoon on Mont Valla Avenue after learning that intruders might be inside. Officers went to the house after a neighbor reported spotting two males trying to break into a residence at 213 Mont Valla Ave. around 12:30 p.m., Hagerstown Police Sgt. Paul Kifer said. The caller gave a police dispatcher a vague description of the males believed to be attempting to enter the residence, Kifer said. When the first officers to arrive approached the house, they spotted someone moving around in the basement, but they didn't get a good enough look to identify anyone, Kifer said.

martinsburg@herald-mail.com MARTINSBURG, W.VA. - A pedestrian was killed Friday afternoon after being struck by a car in Martinsburg. The man, who was not identified, was struck by a car on Williamsport Pike about 4:30 p.m., according to a police dispatcher. The man was described as middle-aged, in his 40s or 50s, by Martinsburg Fire Department Lt. Donald Shirley, who was present on the scene. Shirley said the man was unconscious but breathing on his own at the accident scene, but died later at City Hospital.

WILLIAMSPORT - A Florida woman was killed and her husband seriously injured Tuesday morning in a single-car accident on Interstate 81, according to Maryland State Police. The accident happened shortly before 10:30 a.m. at the three-mile marker on southbound I-81 near Williamsport, troopers said. Harry Robert Hetrick, 69, of 16796 Church Drive, North Fort Myers, Fla., told police he fell asleep while driving and ran off the right side of the highway, troopers said. Hetrick's 1995 Buick LeSabre then swerved back onto the road, struck a rock and went airborne, flipping several times before coming to rest on its roof, troopers said.

Editor's note: This series over the 12 days before Christmas recognizes those who make the holidays better for others. pepperb@herald-mail.com CASCADE - This is the first Christmas that Washington County Sheriff's Department Deputy 1st Class Danny Watson's family members will be without him, but Joe Keller, a county police dispatcher, has made sure their Christmas is not without gifts. Watson left this summer for Iraq, where he is serving with a U.S. Naval Reserves Mobile Construction unit, said Keller, who's been employed by the department for nearly 11 years.

Police and emergency dispatchers across the Tri-State area said there were few problems Monday with Memorial Day traffic. By midafternoon, traffic was starting to slow on eastbound Interstate 70 in Washington County, while Interstate 81 was free of any congestion, according to a spokesman for the Washington County barrack of the Maryland State Police. Later in the evening, emergency services officials said they hadn't received any reports of backups on area roads. Some 911 dispatchers said they were busy with calls in the evening, but none had reports of significant police or fire incidents.

HAGERSTOWN -- Hagerstown Police officers surrounded a home Monday afternoon on Mont Valla Avenue after learning that intruders might be inside. Officers went to the house after a neighbor reported spotting two males trying to break into a residence at 213 Mont Valla Ave. around 12:30 p.m., Hagerstown Police Sgt. Paul Kifer said. The caller gave a police dispatcher a vague description of the males believed to be attempting to enter the residence, Kifer said. When the first officers to arrive approached the house, they spotted someone moving around in the basement, but they didn't get a good enough look to identify anyone, Kifer said.

A driver was taken to Washington County Hospital Friday afternoon after experiencing a diabetic emergency and crashing at Prime Outlets at Hagerstown, Maryland State Police said. The crash happened at about 1:47 p.m., a police dispatcher said. The vehicle crashed near the site of the future Columbia Sportswear Co. store. No one else was injured in the crash, the dispatcher said.

Police did handle Gates incident 'stupidly' To the editor: Actually, President Obama is right.Â The Cambridge police did handle the Gates affair "stupidly. " First, the "nosy neighbor" who called 911 did everything correctly. If she had really been a nosy neighbor, she would already have known that the man renting that house was black. She observed what she thought were two men breaking into a house, and she called 911 to report it.Â I hope that my neighbors would do the same for me. She did not identify the men as black.

West Memorial Boulevard near South Potomac Street was closed for a little more than an hour Wednesday morning in the area of a railroad bridge after a truck became lodged in the underpass, the Hagerstown Police Department said. The accident happened about 9:30 a.m. when a truck attempted to drive through the underpass and "peeled its top off," a police dispatcher said. The truck was removed and the street was reopened by 10:45 a.m., police said. CSX, the track's owner, was called to inspect the bridge and found that the damage was superficial only, police said.

TRI-STATE - A storm Saturday night caused flooding problems and accidents in Hagerstown, but no one was seriously injured, a police dispatcher said. Maryland State Police responded to several accidents, including one in the Smithsburg area that sent someone to the hospital, a trooper said. No additional information about that accident was available. Most of the accidents were weather-related, the trooper said. A Washington County Emergency Services dispatcher said the county responded to about two dozen weather-related calls, mostly about flooding conditions.

TRI-STATE -- A storm Saturday night caused flooding problems and accidents in Hagerstown, but no one was seriously injured, a police dispatcher said. Maryland State Police responded to several accidents, including one in the Smithsburg area that sent someone to the hospital, a trooper said. No additional information about that accident was available. Most of the accidents were weather-related, the trooper said. A Washington County Emergency Services dispatcher said the county responded to about two dozen weather-related calls, mostly about flooding conditions.

Deer jumps through vehicle window A deer jumped through the passenger-side window of a vehicle on Pennsylvania Avenue Friday morning, a police dispatcher said. The incident occurred about 7:30 a.m. near Rest Haven Cemetery, the dispatcher said. The driver was not injured, the dispatcher said. Two arrested on drug charges MARTINSBURG, W.Va. - Two Hagerstown residents were arrested Thursday on drug charges after their vehicle was seen in a parking lot on New York Avenue, according to a Berkeley County Sheriff's Department press release.

A deer jumped through the passenger window of a vehicle on Pennsylvania Avenue this morning, a police dispatcher said. The dispatcher said the incident occurred at about 7:30 a.m. near Rest Haven Cemetery. The driver was not hurt. No other details were available this morning.

martinsburg@herald-mail.com MARTINSBURG, W.VA. - A pedestrian was killed Friday afternoon after being struck by a car in Martinsburg. The man, who was not identified, was struck by a car on Williamsport Pike about 4:30 p.m., according to a police dispatcher. The man was described as middle-aged, in his 40s or 50s, by Martinsburg Fire Department Lt. Donald Shirley, who was present on the scene. Shirley said the man was unconscious but breathing on his own at the accident scene, but died later at City Hospital.